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The Holy Grail (聖杯, Seihai?) is the Christian holy relic that received the blood of Christ, considered to be a Noble Phantasm.1 There have been many claims of its existence, 726 of which were investigated by the Church, and many conflicts for such artifacts have happened around the world throughout history. The name is utilized in the various Holy Grail Wars as the name of an artifact purportedly capable granting any wish to whomever comes to claim it rather than the real artifact, though the Church often gets involved simply because of that reason. Its advent is the ultimate goal of the various Holy Grail Wars. Contentshide Fuyuki Nature and power Corruption Usage Container Greater Grail Moon Cell Great Holy Grail War False Holy Grail War Ainsworth Holy Grail War Others List of wishes References FuyukiEdit The Holy Grail of the Fuyuki Holy Grail Wars of Fuyuki City appears at the end of the war to grant the final Master and Servant pair a wish on the Greater Grail, the true device that has the power to grant wishes. Because it is only a vessel to summon the Great Grail, it is known as the Lesser Grail. Nature and powerEdit What is handed down in the city of Fuyuki is not the one that received the blood of the Christ, but the prototype of an even more ancient "omnipotent container"; this container is the 726th Grail that sticks to the legend of the name. It is a gate that leads to the Root, Akasha; a hole connected to the nuclear core, the Greater Grail (大聖杯, daiseihai?), a wish machine - the key to startup the Great Grail. It is not an omnipotent container, but a replica created to work like a "wish machine" that can bring forth one's own will.2 It is, however only a clump of magical energy and thus is not as omnipotent as people believe it to be, so wishing for something like "Saving the World" without specifying a working method will not suffice. Even if someone lacks power or wealth, the Grail can possibly carry out such a wish if they knew "the method of Saving the World." Kiritsugu Emiya, knowing only the practice of "sacrificing few for the benefit of many", was shown such a vision of "what would happened if the World was saved", though the corruption caused him to be shown the most malicious imagery of his "saved world." Had he followed through with it, the Grail would have realized it with certainty.3 Ultimately, it can only amplify the scale of realization of wishes with working methodologies and is incapable of granting true miracles. CorruptionEdit Evilgrail The evil essence of the Grail attempting to be born into the world during Heaven's Feel. The essence of its content is a "colorless force", but after the third Grail War, it has been polluted by Angra Mainyu and became a malignant "swirling power", a curse, the third element. Hence, it is absolutely impossible to correct inconsistencies by precise calculations or interactions, and it will interpret any wish of the owner with nothing else than destruction, and grant it. Moreover, once it has been opened, it will keep flowing out infinitely and bring disaster. The servant who is known as Angra Mainyu was summoned in the Third Grail War, he is a Heroic Spirit born into existence according to people’s wishes. As a result, Avenger was born into this world in order to grant everybody’s desire for an existence like “All the World’s Evil (Angra Mainyu)” 4 Even though the Holy Grail would happen every 60 years, the 10-year gap between the Fourth and Fifth Holy Grail Wars was shorter because the Lesser Grail was destroyed before the Greater Grail could direct the accumulated mana to establish its pathway, with the unused mana becoming trapped in the Grail. The function of the Greater Grail was also already disrupted when it was impregnated with Avenger in the Third War.5 Additionally, since the corruption, the Grail has been able to summon evil-aligned Heroic Spirits; something that was not allowed before. Heroic Spirits are humans whose legends are passed down in the memory of humanity, regardless of their alignment; the Grail originally was allowed to summon only "good" Heroic Spirits, but ever since the corruption, spirits like Gilles de Rais, Medusa and Medea can be summoned despite being anti-heroes rather than heroes in the common understanding of the term. The classes are, however, unaffected. The summoning of Avenger was a mistake done prior to the corruption, and the corruption itself had no known influence on the classes. It seems that it is only a coincidence that the two known Casters have an evil alignment. This power also gives birth to Heaven's Fall, the Reverse Moon (天の逆月, Ten no Sakazuki?), which is not the Grail of Heaven (天の杯, Ten no Sakazuki?), but Angra Mainyu, the core Grail. While it is weak compared to the maelstrom of magical energy that is the Einzbern Grail, what it can do is grant wishes. In a way, it is a small but "true" Holy Grail. It is the foundation of the looping world in hollow ataraxia, where it appears as a black moon, hence the name. UsageEdit As a spiritual existence, the Kotomine Church manages the replica that will become its vessel, but the vessel of this fifth war is the heart of the homunculus Illyasviel von Einzbern. It is a catalyst that will help the descent of the real thing, and the ceremony to bring forth the cup that grants any wish, the Holy Grail War (or Heaven's Feel) requires seven Magi and Servants. The Holy Grail chooses its Master by selecting magi possessing magic circuits, be of sufficient stature to summon a Heroic Spirits. The Three Houses take priority as Master.6 Servants that get killed return to being a "piece of energy" and disappear from the time axis, but the Grail (container) created by the Einzberns is here to temporarily stop that and store them. When the Holy Grail goes into hibernation, it puts its accumulated mana into storage. When 7 Servants are present, their spiritual cores will be released and the Heroic Spirits’ bodies will disappear from this world. The cores alone will then return to the Throne of Heroes.7 Once the vessel is filled with energy, the Great Grail can start the ritual that will open a "hole" to the Akasha. To open a way to the swirl of the Akasha, the Grail needs to sacrifice all seven Servants to start up the Great Grail, but six Servants are enough if the wish is within the limits of the world. There are four gates in Fuyuki where the Grail can descend, and a miss will have it switch to the next gate. The first time was at the Ryuudou temple on Mount Enzou, the second time was the Tohsaka mansion, the third was the church on the hill, and the fourth was the field that is now burnt. ContainerEdit Holy grail The Holy Grail Up until the third Grail War, the vessel for the Grail, also called the Lesser Grail (小聖杯, shouseihai?), was a literal "cup". However, during the events of the third War, it was damaged in battle and the ceremony was interrupted; for that reason, it had to be made as something that could manage and protect itself.8 During the Fourth War, Irisviel von Einzbern was a homunculus forged by the Einzbern family to be the physical embodiment of the Lesser Grail. Her deteriorating condition as her consciousness was supplanted by the Grail was mitigated by implanting Avalon into her body until the final days of the war. When she was murdered by Kotomine Kirei, the Grail took on her persona. During the fifth War, the Lesser Grail was made as the heart of Illyasviel von Einzbern, a special homunculus made with concentrated alchemy, with Irisviel as her mother and Kiritsugu Emiya as her father. The Grail hidden in Ilya was even more refined than the one in Irisviel, proof that Ilya was expected to be the Einzbern's trump card. At the end of the Fourth War, Zouken Matou acquired the fragments of the destroyed Grail. He synthesized it with his Crest worms, which he put inside the body of Sakura Matou. Though she was incomplete, this turned her into a second Lesser Grail.9 Greater GrailEdit GreatGrail The Great Holy Grail and Avenger being born into the world The Greater Grail (大聖杯, Dai Seihai?) is the gateway linked to the Root and the ultimate prize for the Fuyuki Holy Grail War, and is in essence, a wishing machine. Known as the core world, the Cup of Heaven (天の杯, Ten no Sakazuki?), the core of the Grail was formed by Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, who continues to remain at its centre. The creation of the Great Grail was done so under the supervision of Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, the teacher of the three founders of the war, Justica, Makiri Zouken, and Nagato Tohsaka. The magic circle of the Greater Grail is inscribed upon the land managed by the Tohsaka family in Fuyuki City. Located in the great cave underground of the Ryuudou temple on Mount Enzou, it consists of a series of seals carved on a radius of above 50 meters of bare rock. It is the most ideal location for the Holy Grail to be summoned, though three other locations also exist should the location at Mount Enzou be unavailable. The Greater Grail itself is a system, and the Holy Grail is the key to start it up. The Greater Grail does not have a will and Justicia’s soul was completely sublimated when she sacrifice herself for the ritual.10 While Holy Grail collects the souls of the Servants, the Greater Grail uses the energy to open a gateway. Though the Lesser Grail is forcibly destroyed by Saber under the command of her master, Kiritsugu Emiya, its corrupted contents spill from the Greater Grail in the form of black mud. For the Holy Grail Wars, the Greater Grail is what selects the Masters and invites Heroic Spirits, setting them in the Servant class system. After picking a Master from each of the three founding families (the Einzbern, Matou, and Tohsaka), it preferably picks Masters who earnestly want it, although it is possible to have irregulars, like Kirei Kotomine in the fourth Holy Grail War, who has no sense of purpose. In the Fate and Unlimited Blade Works routes of Fate/stay night, ten years after the Fifth Holy Grail War, the Mages Association planned on bring back the Greater Grail with great opposition from the Church. After the end of a great turmoil with the same magnitude as the Grail War, the Holy Grail in Fuyuki City was dismantled under the direction of Lord El-Melloi II and Rin Tohsaka and the Grail Wars of Fuyuki came to a complete conclusion. In the Heaven's Feel scenario, the Greater Grail is either finally destroyed by Shirou Emiya (normal end) or shut down for good by Illyasviel von Einzbern (true end). Moon CellEdit The term Holy Grail in Moon Cell differs from the standard "Wishing Device that can grant any wish", the Moon Cell Holy Grail is the "right to use Moon Cell".11 Great Holy Grail WarEdit 8IMoxcZ - Imgur The Grail as it appeared during the Great Holy Grail War False Holy Grail WarEdit Ainsworth Holy Grail WarEdit OthersEdit In the events of Fate/Labyrinth, someone has installed and activated one of the Subcategory of the Holy Grails in the Seventh Labyrinth of Caubac Alcatraz, it is deep with in the bottom most level of this labyrinth. The Subcategory Holy Grail is an imitation of the Greater Grail. Its function as a wish granting device is inferior to the true Greater Grail. The Subcategory Holy Grail operates just like the one in the Holy Grail War. But, the Heroic Spirits never surpass five Servants. In this Subcategory Holy Grail War, there are only four Servants. Four Servants were automatically summoned, the servants are Archer, Assassin, Caster and Saber. This time the victory conditions of the Subcategory Holy Grail War, is to reach the centre-most room, on the bottom-most level. Find the Subcategory Holy Grail, and the person who obtains it becomes the winner. However the four Servants are permitted to act independently and they aim for the same location, whether it is to “destroy” or “obtain” the Subcategory of the Holy Grail. List of wishesEdit Most Masters and Servants enter the war with a specific wish in mind for when they obtain the Holy Grail. There are also those who seek it simply for the sake of seeking it, those who are against its very existence, and those who pay it no mind in lieu of other goals. Jubstacheit von Einzbern believes that all Servants wish to be resurrected for a second life, although Lancer believes no true hero would actually be interested in the prospect. He claims that true heroes are not attached to the world, but are only attached to the oaths they could not fulfill. Spirits are spiritual bodies used by Gaia as a sense of touch, and anything that interferes with them is considered a contradiction. There are several types of spirits and despite the fact that they can be found everywhere only those humans who possess a spiritual affinity can perceive them. Spirits are generally harmless to people, but those of the elemental class are of such a dimension that they can be perceived and interact with people by taking a physical form. Presently, science cannot interfere with spiritual bodies and modern Magecraft cannot reproduce mysteries of such scale. Contentshide Nature Categories Elemental Divine Spirit Heroic Spirit Animal Spirits Kitsune and Inukami Neco Spirit Nature Spirits Jinn Guardian Spirit Lower-class Spirits Wraith Apparition References NatureEdit There are many spirits born from human folklore and human traditions due to humans being able to "engrave" a Thaumaturgical System (魔術系統, Majutsu Keitō?) upon the World ─ a body of preestablished rules, fomented per the faith of the populace. If it is believed that the subject of a Mystery "exists," the World permits its existence. Definite affirmation of said belief is not required, so even though the majority of modern humans reject the existence of ghosts, modern science cannot outright demonstrate that they do not exist, and, thus, within the unconscious, there lurks the vague suspicion that "they might indeed exist." This sort of "suspicion" falls under the category of "faith." "Ignorance" is the force that opposes "faith". If the existence of ghosts is itself utterly unknown, faith cannot foment. Beings without physical form have a Spiritual Body (霊体, Reitai?), that with spiritual properties where a shape is constructed without components with physical properties. Differing from a Material Body, that which is identical in structure to flesh bodies, that cannot walk through walls and becomes injured when beaten, spiritual bodies are capable of completely disregarding such physical interference. Without conceptual1 or magical properties, those with a Spiritual Body cannot be harmed with a baton or sword, and such attempts will only hit empty space. Those that can switch between both properties, such as Servants, have advantages and disadvantages in both states.2 CategoriesEdit ElementalEdit An Elemental (精霊, Seirei?) is a general category for a variety of spiritual bodies (霊体, Reitai?) but usually refers to Nature Spirits. It is a class of Mystery whose foundations can't be replicated by Magecraft, and a rare number of Phantasmal Species are capable of advancing to becoming Elementals. There are a few types of Elementals: Nature Spirits, Animal Spirits, and the artificially created Guardian Spirits. Lower class spirits such as ghosts and apparitions are not included in this category. Most of these spirits do not take the shape of a human. Despite being a general category for all sorts of spirits, the term “Elemental” usually refers to nature spirits when used by itself. In this case, the Elemental acts as part of the Counter Force and exists as the sense of touch for Gaia. The likes of the Lady of the Lake, the True Ancestors and other mediators of nature are first and foremost Elementals before being part of any other category. Elementals are "power" granted form using human imagination as a container and they don't need human "faith" in order to exist. Still, even if their shape turns out to be close to that of humans, their values and logic is still unlike than those of humans. Fairies that grow to a scale that can be perceived by humans become Elementals. True Ancestors, who are classified as a type of greater fairy, fall into the category of an Elemental. The mediators of nature are capable of using Marble Phantasms and it is the natural ability of Elementals, along with Demons, to use Reality Marbles. Divine SpiritEdit Main article: Divine Spirit Heroic SpiritEdit Main article: Heroic Spirit Animal SpiritsEdit Animal Spirits (動物霊, Doubutsurei?) The spirits of dead animal's. Differently, as by the souls of dead humans, who are generally formless existences, animals retain their form from their former lives. But they are, just as Human Spirits, able to consume the souls and minds of people and convert them into energy. The basic abilities they had from the time when they where alive still remain but they don't change from such nourishment, as they only become tougher as their magical energy capacity increases. Kitsune and InukamiEdit Kitsune and Inukami (狐、犬神, Kitsune, Inukami?) The traditional nine-tailed fox and dog-familiar spirits of Japanese folklore, they are attributed of being the source of people’s insanity by possessing them. Also, in cases where a demon possession causes the emergence of multiple personalities due the host surrendering his rights of ego, the resulting alternate persona is said to be these spirits themselves accordingly with Japanese beliefs. However, unlike the nonsensical accidents that are the Western demon possessions, there is a definite reason and “will to curse” behind the cases of possession that are brought about by these spirits. Neco SpiritEdit Neco Spirit (ネコ精霊, NEKO Seirei?) refers to the type of spirits that reside in the Great Cat's Village. Members of the race include Neco-Arc, Neco-Arc Bubbles, Neco-Arc Chaos, Neco-Arc Evolution and Neco-Arc Destiny. The Neco Twenty-seven Cats (猫27キャット, ?) or Twenty-seven Cats (二十七キャッツ, ?) include: 1. First Neco-Arc (はじまりのネコアルク, ?) 2. cosmo murder 3. The Little Sister of the Fake Milk Scandal Cat (偽乳疑惑の猫又妹, ?) 6. Makidera BEAUTIFUL (きれいな蒔寺, ?) 7. Himuro STRANGE (.へんな氷室, ?) 8. Yukika BAD (わるい由紀香, ?) 10. SSF Sleeping in the Kotatsu (虎竜で眠るSSF, ?) 12. The Strongest Kariya~n (最強のカリヤーン, ?) 13. Experience Kohakki (エクスペリエンス・コハッキー, ?) 14. Stheno CHASTE (貞淑なステンノー, ?) 15. Euryale GLORIOUS (爛漫なエウリュアレ, ?) 16. Eiichirou Version Sajou Ayaka (エイイチロー版サジョーアーヤカ, ?) 18. True Identity Unknown Princess Fortune (正体不明系魔法少女プリンセスフォーチュン, ?) 19. Iron Fist Violinist Ries (鉄拳ヴァイオリスト・リーズちゃん, ?) 20. White Len (白レン, ?) 21. Spotted Len (ぶちレン, ?) 22. Calico Len (三毛レン, ?) 23. Striped Len (縞レン, ?) 24. Master Panda (パンダ師匠, ?) 25. NG Akiha (NG秋葉, ?) 26. Bread-making Amalgamation Giant God Kiitsuii-chan (製パン合体巨神キッツィーちゃん, ?) 27. Cock Robin MAGNIFICENT (華麗なるコマドリー, ?) EX. Forced to Work, Neco-Arc Chaos (働かざる猫カオス, ?)3 Nature SpiritsEdit Nature Spirits (自然霊, Shizenrei?) As the name states, a spirit born from elements of nature such as plants, soil, gemstones, natural phenomenons and etc. Ores and jewels that have been beneath the surface for an extended period of time generally carry powerful nature spirits. Their spiritual bodies are formed by the will of the planet earth and they gain power from nature itself. Only the spiritual bodies of the nature spirits, who are wanted by the planet as a defense against the resource-plundering actions of humans, can receive a body made out of flesh from Gaia. These supernatural entities are known as the Transcendent Kind. One class of such entities are referred to as True Devils (真性悪魔, Shinsei Akuma?), who possess the capacity to warp (interfere with) the external world by virtue of their being born from the laws of nature -- and therefore being connected to it. JinnEdit Djinn (ジン, Jin?) The wind demons of Islamic tradition, well known for being very mischievous. With bodies made of gas and smoke, they can float in the wind and are mostly invisible, but are capable of producing solid forms when necessary. In those cases, they preferably take the shape of an ogre with the face of a dog and the back of a cat, but cases where they take the appearance of a beautiful human or some beast such as snakes are not unheard of. Their exists a curse which is passed down in the Middle East that is used to ward off storms and Jinns. It is used by True Assassin in the Heaven's Feel route of Fate/stay night's Fifth Holy Grail War. Guardian SpiritEdit Guardian Spirit (守護精霊, Shugoseirei?) is a classification of spirit that comes from the result of merging an Animal or Nature Spirit with a human soul. It is not something that happens naturally, but rather is something that is made by the hands of men in order to give human values to something that is not human. The spirits of humans are of a much lower rank than the nature of animal spirits and are thus absorbed in, but as a result, it acquires knowledge as a human, and gradually acquires a human's value. Theses Spirits must be bound, to objects or to places, in order for them to stay in this world. It takes quite some time for the human spirits to gain control of themselves as well as gain their own body. They are considered to be below other types of Elemental, but have the potential to become Holy Spirits (聖霊, Seirei?). These Holy Spirits can possess Mystic Eyes, which are designated as Jewel under the Noble Colors system. They surpass the Gold-ranked Eyes of the Dead Apostles and are exclusively possessed by Holy Spirits and Magical Beasts from the Age of Gods. In order to materialize themselves, they require a supply of magical energy beyond that of most people. Guardian Spirits cannot be observed by anyone, except for the Master they are connected with, in their spirit form. They can talk with each other and the Guardian Spirit can go scouting, by flying in their spirtual form. The best examples for these kind of spirits are Nanako who inhabits the Seventh Holy Scripture from the Church and the Argon Coin possessed by Medea. Lower-class SpiritsEdit 下級霊 - Kakyuurei Vague, generally formless existences that can only acquire a definite identity by “possessing” an image. WraithEdit Wraith 2 Wraiths Wraith (亡霊, Bourei?), also referred to as Human spirits, are souls of dead people that remain attached to this world due to past grudges, regrets and other sorts of unfinished business that they had during life. As such, they tend to haunt places, items or people that are related to their unfinished business. Normally, direct physical intereference on the part of these ghosts are low. As spiritual body's they usually have to act through some sort of medium, by putting it under its domination, in order to conduct interference. However, as they are no longer something that belongs to this world, their existence is something that degrades with time and they are bound to disappear eventually. But as they are Human Spirits they are able to consume the souls and minds of people and convert them into energy. The basic abilities they had from the time when they where alive still remain but they don't change from such nourishment, as they only become tougher as their magical energy capacity increases. Some people close to becoming Heroic Spirits are wraiths, and some wraiths also share characteristics with legends that allow them to be called when there is no existing hero. The Dead Apostle Ancestor Stanrobe Calhin is referred to as the First Wraith, a disembodied soul who will not dissipate for at least another two hundred years. ApparitionEdit Apparitions Apparitions of the Fujou Building Apparition (浮遊霊, Fuuyuurei?), also referred to as leftover thoughts (残留思念, zanryuu shinen?), are fragments of an already departed soul that gathered together to form an amorphous entity that is filled with nothing but the most primitive drive to live. A projection of someone’s past records which were stored in the surroundings. The traditional ghosts in the popular sense of the world, generally harmless as almost nobody can perceive them. Technically, they can still interact and even attempt to possess those with spiritual abilities, but as long as the target possess a strong ego they won’t be able to take over. Examples include the spirits of the Fujou Building. The “fairies” controlled by Misaya Ouji and Len were made out of these kind of spirits. The World (世界, Sekai?) is used to refer to the concept of the planet Earth. The use of the term "World" as by magi refers to either the planet, Gaia, or the collective unconsciousness of mankind, Alayashiki. There also exist the Reverse Side of the World and the Outside of the World. The Ultimate Ones are vessels upon which the planet's will is manifested, and rather than being part of the Counter Force, they are essentially the planets themselves. Unlike most other celestial bodies in the Solar System, there is no clear Ultimate One for Earth. The creature closest to being the Ultimate One of Earth is Archetype Earth. Contentshide History Counter Force Alaya Gaia Future Fate/Extra Fate/Grand Order Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA Notes Tsuki no Sango References HistoryEdit The Earth was initially formed from molten magma and gas. Life did not emerge until the inhospitable planet cooled and settled. The creation of the primordial Earth is attributed to the God Ea. This infernal landscape has also become part of the genetic memories of all creatures on Earth, and humans drew from this imagery when they created the concept of Hell. The time before the modern era is referred to as the Age of Gods (神代, Jindai?, Age of Divinities), during which mankind was less populous and Divine Spirit were either more common or more active. This period is marked by a greater proliferation of Phantasmal Species such as the True Ancestors and Gorgons, and greater interaction between gods and mortals. This is the age of heroes and mythology, when rules of mankind and the laws of the world were different right down to the very fundamental physics of reality itself, but this period ended many years ago. Even Magecraft itself is described as being closer to Magic in this era and Caster's abilities reinforce this concept. The Age of Gods ended completely, five hundred years before the 5th Century. The demise of Solomon, the King of Magic has accelerated the decline of Mystery. With it the age of mystery ended, and Alaya, gaining momentum with the rapid population growth of humans, overpowered Gaia to completely change the rules of the planet from one that obeyed mystery to one that obeyed physics. The Phantasmal Species ceded the Earth's surface to humans and moved to the Reverse Side of the World. The Age of Fairies (妖精の時代, Yōsei no Jidai?) has ended.1 The coming age is the era of civilization, the Age of Man (人間の時代, Ningen no Jidai?). The current age is identified as the Age of Man, where the gods disappeared from everyday life and the progressive decline of magecraft began. Satsuki Kurogiri introduced the theory that the decline, beginning toward the end of the Age of Gods, may have come about due to the extinction of the Unified Language, which may have been common during the period. Counter ForceEdit The Counter Force (抑止力, Yokushi-ryoku?), also known as "Deterrent Force" in the English localization, is the safety device formed by the collective unconsciousness. The concept of Counter Force is central to Nasuverse, and consists of two components: Gaia and Alaya. Gaia is the will of the Earth, the planet's intrinsic wish to survive and prosper. Alaya, on the other hand, is the collective unconsicious will of mankind to avoid extinction. As humans are creatures of Earth, Alaya was a component of Gaia. However, as mankind begins to develop independent from nature, it became independent of the Gaian system. With this divergence, Alaya is no longer aligned with Gaia and potential conflict can result.2 Despite being called "the will of the planet/mankind", the Counter Forces bear no emotions. They are described as passive spirals of energy that respond to threats of planet destruction or human extinction. The Counter Forces are always active, constantly steering mankind and the planet away from potential danger. Usually, the Counter Forces act indirectly. For instance, Shiki Ryougi was driven by the Counter Force to eliminate the threat that is Souren Araya, while historically, Joan of Arc is also named as one who was empowered by the Counter Force. One exception to this is Enkidu, who is able to access the Counter Force directly through his Noble Phantasm, Enuma Elish. Although Gaia and Alaya are intangible forces of will, each does enlist physical agents to deal with events too threatening to address with indirect intervention. The agents of Gaia consist of Spirits, Phantasmal Species, True Ancestors, and other species born from the planet. The agents of Alaya are human spirits who pledge their eternal service to Alaya in return for power during their lifetime. Agents employed in this way are referred to as Counter Guardians, and Archer is one such Counter Guardian. There also exist unique entities known as Beasts that are employed by each World. The Beast of Gaia (ガイアの怪物, ?) is known to be Primate Murder, but the Beast of Alaya (アラヤの怪物, ?) has yet to be named. It is known for a fact, however, that it exists. The Counter Forces have immense power at their disposal. However, only the appropriate amount is unleashed to address a particular event. If the threat possesses an amount of power equal to X, then the Counter Force will deploy an amount of power just enough to snuff out X and eliminate the threat. The amount of power can be as small as nudging individuals into place through "coincidences", but it can also be as great as sinking an entire continent. According to Merlin in Garden of Avalon, Counter Force is a defensive mechanism born of the collective unconscious of mankind, and that the difference between the Heroic Spirits and the Counter Guardians of Counter Force is that the Heroic Spirits are summoned by the hopes of the men, while Counter Guardians are summoned by the despair of men. AlayaEdit Alaya (アラヤ, Araya?) is the collective unconsciousness of mankind, the drive for survival. Alaya constantly steers mankind away from extinction. It takes central stage in Kara no Kyoukai as the driving force leading to the event in Paradox Spiral. Usually Alaya interferes indirectly by guiding and empowering an individual to eliminate a threat. Such individuals include Shiki Ryougi (and characters associated with her) and Joan of Arc. When indirect intervention is insufficient, Alaya will deploy the Counter Guardians. The deployment of Counter Guardians is by no means subtle, as the threat will be eliminated with the surround, inflicting much collateral damage. Touko Aozaki hinted that the sinking of Atlantas was the work of Alaya. Alaya is of particular relevance to magi, as those close to reaching the Root are deemed threatening by Alaya. Many of them go to extreme length to avoid or hide from Alaya. For instance, Araya Souren attempted to hide his approach to the Root by containing his experiment in a boundary field close to a Reality Marble, essentially masking his work by internalizing it. GaiaEdit Gaia (ガイア, ?) is the planet's will to survive. Gaia protects all creatures on Earth by using Spirits and creatures of the Earth, but as mankind becomes independent, Gaia increasingly perceives humans as a source of threat due to their reckless destruction of the environment. Gaia's response to the human threat is producing beings that can cull or rule mankind. Primate Murder was created to quickly eliminate humans. The True Ancestors are great Faeries modelled after the Crimson Moon, introduced by Gaia to rule over mankind. It appears Gaia's various attempts will lead to failure, as storylines of several Type Moon works such as Fate/EXTRA, and Notes depicted Earth either as a planet in distress or already dead. FutureEdit The future of the planet is undetermined, with many possible outcomes available depending on the conditions present in the parallel worlds. The Mana Depletion of the world of Fate/Extra is caused by the Aylesbury Valesti producing a pole shift that began the depletion of mana. The world of Tsuki no Sango experienced a similar pole shift and the decline of the human race rather than magecraft. The world of Notes died entirely, and humanity still occupied its corpse. Gilgamesh saw a future where, following the wishes of the Çatalhöyük, humanity outgrows the planet and reaches for the light millions of lightyears away. Fate/ExtraEdit The world of Fate/Extra shares the same events as that of Fate/stay night up until a certain point until a "certain major incident" in the 1970s that caused the world's mana to start drying up causes it to split off into its own separate universe. As of the 2030s, the world's mana was completely gone. Fate/Grand OrderEdit Due to anomalies in time, it has been shown that humans will go extinct in 2016. The future was previously established so that humans would prosper for the next century, but that future has become unobservable. Using Grand Orders, the Chaldea Security Organization plans to correct the anomalies and save the human race. Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYAEdit The parallel world of the Ainsworth family in Fate/kaleid liner PRISMA☆ILLYA has experienced a shift in the axis of the world and the start of the depletion of its magical energy through a cause unknown to humans. This has brought on changes in the environment like abnormal weather and changes to the coastlines, such as Japan experiencing cold weather and snow during the summer. Plant life has declined, causing a decline in the animal life that feeds off the plants, and it has reached the human population as well. The process for the depletion of energy will take several hundred years, and the humans will not last more than ten generations before the world's destruction. While science will allow humans to prevail in the short term even with the miracles of the world vanishing, the rules of the world being rewritten make it a surety that humans will perish. "Dry spots" are beginning to appear around the world in places where the energy has been completely exhausted, and an unknown particle unlike magical energy is spreading through those areas. Acting as a poison to wipe out everything alive under the current rules of the planet, the current inhabitants cannot exist in the new world. The Ainsworths plan to use the Holy Grail, Miyu Edelfelt, to use the remaining energy on the planet to make humans into beings that can survive in a new world, similar to the A-Rays and Liners of Notes. NotesEdit Land of Steel (鋼の大地, Hagane no Daichi?), also known as count 1999, is the name of the world in the time of Notes. It is not the official name, but a nickname passed down by those who live on the dead planet. The land is no longer able to support life due to the continents being mostly cracked wastelands unable to properly allow for the growth of food, and the atmosphere, covered with gray and sepia clouds, is no longer suitable for animals. Despite these conditions, humanity has lived on by utilizing their developed civic technology.3 Due to their survival, the planet, not wishing to have beings live on past itself, made a final wish to the other planets to completely wipe out humanity. They responded by sending the Ultimate Ones, which ravage the Land of Steel in order to fulfill their purpose. Cloudskynotes1 Cloud Sky. Bloodskynotes1 Blood Sky. The world is filled with Grain (ジン, Jin?, "Gin"), also known as "Ether", harmful and unpredictable space dust particles generated from the dead planet.4 It is lethal to regular humans, who require special medication and machinery to process it, but it has had beneficial effects for A-Rays and Liners. The energy transfer rate of the Grain scattered in atmosphere is incredibly high, and it resulted in a new level of warfare that was never before possible due to the A-Rays and Knight Arms making weapons of the old age useless. The Cloud Sky (空が、昏い, Sora ga, Kurai?, The Sky, it's Dark), said to be a barrier created by the Six Sisters to repel the Ultimate Ones, is a thick layer of clouds that has hidden the sky since the Great War.5 It covers the Blood Sky (空が、赤い, Sora ga, Akai?, The Sky, it's Red), which is completely red rather than blue. This resulted not from pollution, but from the blood of Type Pluto after its destruction in the atmosphere completely covering the sky.6 The main inhabitants after the death of the world were the A-rays and the surviving human race. They fought against each other in a conflict called The Great War (大戦, Taisen?), also known as Tale, where the A-Rays, under the Six Sisters, wished to rule the world, while the humans fought to survive.7 Humanity, on the verge of defeat, eventually developed Liners and the Knights to help in their battles, but this did nothing more than further destroy the already dead planet. The war had no victor due to the sudden appearance of the Ultimate Ones, having arrived to fulfill their goal of wiping out all living beings. Both sides were nearly wiped out, and they started working together to fight against their combined threats. The Ultimate Ones slowed their activity after the end of the war, but still continue to slowly wipe out the remaining humans. Type Jupiter, Type Venus, and Type Saturn have all been destroyed, which has led for a call to the planets to initiate a final battle with the humans. Tsuki no Sango OverviewEdit Engraved on the body in a variety of shapes, most typically in a magic circle, a Magic Crest is a series of Magic Circuits that were given a more stable form in order to act as an archive of thaumaturgical capability. At some point of the magus’ life, he will forge some of his own Magic Circuits into the Crest, store many, if not all, spells that he learned in life and then pass it down to his successor. As the process repeats itself with each new generation, the older a lineage is, the greater the number of Circuits forming the Crest, and the greater the amount of knowledge stored inside it. It is the duty of any heir of a family of magi to successfully expand and pass down the Crest to the next generation.1 As the complexity of the Crest increases with each new generation, the spells stored inside them become more stable and easier to activate. As long as the Crest is completely integrated with the magus' body, he will be able to cast any spell recorded in the crest, even if he himself never had the chance to learn it properly. All he has to do is to activate the Crest just like he would do to a normal Circuit (by running magical energy inside of it), find the spell stored inside and activate it with its relevant incantation and thaumaturgical process. Furthermore, it is possible to use it to support the magus' regular spellcasting and, whenever the magus gets heavily injured, the Crest is capable of keeping him alive for as long as there is still magical energy inside his body. Location of the Crest varies: Rin Tohsaka has hers on her left arm, while Kiritsugu Emiya had his on his back. Although the Crest is a set of Magic Circuits independent from those natural to a magus’ body, and cannot be detected when no magical energy is being passed through them, transplantation of a Magic Crest is still very much like that of an internal organ and thus can only be done to a compatible host. Normally that would mean someone who shares blood relation with the magus, but that is not an unbreakable standard. Even between close relatives, the chances of rejection are high. Therefore, in order to increase the chances of success, the transplant is done slowly throughout the heir’s childhood, so that their bodies can get accustomed to the presence of the Crest as they mature. Furthermore, the use of medicines made of special herbs and crushed bone is normal during the whole process, although bloodlines with a long history of 500 years or more have achieved a genetic uniformity that allowed them to overcome the need for that altogether. Despite all the troubles, the Magic Crest is still a highly valued article for any magus. But since usually only one person can inherit it, troubles can arise when there is more than one candidate. It’s not unheard of for bloody feuds to erupt within a clan of magi because of a dispute between two or more children fighting over the family’s Crest. It was because of that and other reasons that the current trend of only one heir per family (and the consequential policy of forsaking or excluding all other children) came to be. In a sense, Runes and magic jewels can be considered simplified forms of Magic Crests. The Mages Association also has technology for extracting just the magic crest from the body and storing it. Grand OrderEdit For the quests performed by Chaldea, see Grand Order. Grand Order: Coronal Rank Designation ( 冠位指定グランドオーダー , Kanmuri-i shiteiGurando ōdā ?), as it relates to Magic Crests, is the highest law of the magus chosen to inherit the Magic Crest, where he is forbidden from committing suicide by a severe mental restraint. Since meaningless suicide of a magus who possesses a Magic Crest would most likely mean his bloodline's loss of claim to magecraft itself, the inability to commit suicide has been known to be the paramount responsibility of magi since the inception of modern magecraft. In order to kill oneself while carrying a Magic Crest, it is necessary to have an extremely legitimate reason. Although this is what magi know as a matter of fact, the true Grand Order is actually a curse originating from Solomon that is crucial for his plan to exterminate mankind. During his lifetime, Solomon planted the curse of Grand Orders in the Magic Crests of select magus bloodlines and designed them so that they would transform the carrier of the Crest into a Demon God after a certain amount of time, completely erasing their original personalities. The prevention of suicide as an ideal was spread to ensure that Solomon's magus bloodlines survived until the designated time. Using this method, he was able to ensure that his loyal servants would appear in certain intervals over 3,000 years to create Singularities for feeding Ars Almadel Salomonis with energy.2 In Clock Tower 2015, Lev Lainur Flauros' third personality, Flauros, kills himself in order to prevent his transformation into the final Demon God Flauros, and his remaining two personalities fight over control of the body until they eventually destroy themselves. As a result, Solomon's 3,000-year-old plan to destroy mankind is foiled. Crest WormsEdit Crest Worms (刻印虫, Kokuinchuu?) are a unique kind of Magic Crest of the Matou family made out from Zouken Matou's personal Familiars, magical energy eating worms that can channel energy even when their host is no longer alive. So far the only known example of a Crest that can be passed down to someone outside of the bloodline, forcibly confers to one’s body the capacity to use Magecraft. Crest Worms are not only capable of expanding one’s natural Magic Circuits, but also capable acting as artificial Circuits after a certain incubation period is complete. Since they usually remain in a dormant state, the worms don’t have that much direct influence over someone. However, once awakened by the activation of Circuits they will try to force the body to continuously produce magical energy in order to sustain themselves. Through the use of these and an intensive training, it is possible for someone with no prior experience in Magecraft to become a magus eligible to participate in the Heaven's Feel in roughly a year, as was the case with Kariya Matou. However, doing so not only will greatly shorten his remaining lifespan but also the process is in itself incredibly painful. The worms implanted in Sakura Matou are unique since they have the fragments of the Holy Grail summoned in the 4th Grail War as component materials. After an incubation period of almost 11 years, the worms have spread themselves through the girl’s entire body.